Doug Hardin, an assistant prosecutor in the Barren County Attorney’s office, is not involved in Kevin Ware’s case and this week decided to comment on the University of Louisville guard’s citation for reckless driving.

“Trying to think of a good Kevin Ware speeding ticket/failure to appear joke that won’t get retweeted by a state or national media member with ‘KEVIN WARE’S PROSECUTOR SPEAKS’ has been quite a challenge,” Hardin, who is typically assigned to Family Court cases, posted on his public Facebook account Monday.

“So, with the caveat that I don’t cover District Court on Mondays and thus have no input on his case, and since I’m posting this only on FB where only my friends see it, allow me to pick this low-hanging fruit:

“I’m not inclined to give Kevin Ware a break on his speeding ticket. He already got a pretty big break about eight months ago.”

Hardin apparently was not aware that his Facebook settings were not private and the posts had been removed on his page since Thursday night.

Hardin later posted, after the Cardinals beat Hartford on Tuesday by an 87-48 score: “Louisville wins by 40, the same margin that Kevin Ware allegedly beat the posted speed limit.”

He then added one more post: “Just so we’re all on the same page here, I have absolutely nothing to do with Kevin Ware’s traffic case, and although I made a terrible joke about it that only 15 of my hundreds of friends found funny enough to ‘like,’ I can assure anyone reading this — including people who take screenshots of my Facebook page and tweet them to Louisville media outlets — that our office treats all cases seriously and treats all defendants with the utmost dignity and respect.”

When reached Thursday afternoon by phone, Jeff Sharp, the Barren County Attorney who oversees Hardin, said he wasn’t aware of the Facebook posts but did note that Hardin is a U of L graduate.

Hardin will work in Family Court as he regularly does, not District Court, during Ware’s appearance on Monday, Sharp said. Asked whether Hardin’s conduct was appropriate, Sharp declined further comment.

By Friday Morning, Hardin had deleted the three Ware-related posts on his public Facebook page. His Twitter account, previously open, is now protected, meaning users signed up to the social media website must request to follow him.

Attempts to reach Hardin at his office were unsuccessful. A representative answering the phone said he wasn’t available for comment.

IN THE C-J

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New U of L beat writer Jeff Greer wants your input for a new feature on his blog: “I asked on Twitter today if readers would submit questions for a weekly mailbag. The response has been fantastic. So let’s do it.” (http://cjky.it/17U6Fxw)

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University of Kentucky players Cody Quinn, Jason Hatcher and Demarco Robinson have been suspended for Saturday’s Georgia game, UK announced Thursday. Quinn and Hatcher, a Trinity graduate, are out a game, while Robinson is suspended indefinitely — all three for a violation of team rules. (http://cjky.it/1bc9mQY)

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In other U of L sports news Thursday, the Cardinals’ men’s soccer team advanced in the NCAA tournament by edging Denver on penalty kicks (http://cjky.it/1h74zCM). It was never close for the women’s basketball team in a 90-33 romp of Ohio (http://cjky.it/18tAUiC).

AROUND THE WEB

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CBS Sports columnist Gregg Doyel weighed in with his take on the John Calipari-to-the-New York Knicks buzz Thursday, essentially saying he doesn’t think Calipari would ruin his legacy at UK should he make the leap back to the NBA. (http://cbsprt.co/1ayjAJC)

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U of L is the new No. 1 in SI.com writer Luke Winn’s weekly power ratings. For a week, Michigan State had reclaimed the top spot until Thursday. Winn cited the Cardinals’ ability to continue turning over opponents amid a new freedom of movement officiating emphasis as key. (http://bit.ly/1iy7cg5)

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The California Horse Racing Board on Thursday cleared trainer Bob Baffert of any wrongdoing after seven of his horses broke down at Hollywood Park over a 16-month period. A medical director didn’t find extra medications in Baffert’s horses and attributed the incidents to a statistical abnormality. (http://bit.ly/17x2Q4a)

WHAT’S ON TAP

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Follow Jason Frakes (@kyhighs) on Twitter for coverage of tonight’s football playoff games. Local highlights include Trinity at Male, DeSales at Christian Academy, Simon Kenton at Butler and Wayne County at Central. (http://cjky.it/1i1GFdg)